There are a lot of companies that would be glad to hire more women and boost diversity, but they aren’t getting enough female applicants to make it happen. Industries like agriculture, aviation, construction, and technology experience this problem quite often. It’s not that women don’t want to work in these industries, it’s that companies like these are often ineffective at recruiting female candidates.
Hiring managers are going to have to make some changes to their standard approach if they want to hire more women. To offer some suggestions, we’ve gathered an overview of things to consider if your company wants to become more gender diverse.
Join a Women’s Association
If your business is on the lookout for talented employee potential, then organizations like professional development associations for women are going to be among your best bets. Joining or partnering with a group like this would serve your goal to improve diversity in several key ways.
First, it would showcase your company’s support for women in your industry. That alone could be very helpful for onboarding more female employees. Second, participating in the association’s activities would help you expand your network and connect with more up-and-coming talent.
There will likely be other benefits too. For example, the Northwest Indiana Influential Women Association (NWIIWA) offers education and professional development opportunities for every employee of its member companies throughout the year. Something like this would bring a lot of value for any company seeking to increase and nurture its talented people.
Expand Your Internship Opportunities
If your company were to provide more internship opportunities for women, it would be like getting a first-round draft pick for future generations of qualified job candidates. Your supervisors or mentors would have a direct hand in providing instruction that aligns with the needs of your industry, and you’d be exposing future candidates to your company’s values. All of which would be great for recruitment.
When expanding your internship opportunities, consider partnering with a local institution. Indiana’s high schools and colleges are always looking to develop more pathways to employment for their students, and it’s likely you can connect with great resources at little to no expense. Ivy Tech, for example, offers many ways to connect with students and alumni. As does the State of Indiana, Purdue, IU, and probably your local high school.
Re-Write Your Job Postings
Job postings often contain an excessive amount of detail regarding the criteria needed to be an ideal fit for an open position. This is no longer considered a best practice because there are fundamental differences among demographics in terms of self-screening when seeking employment.
Research cited by the Harvard Business Review points out that men tend to feel confident applying for a job if they meet about two-thirds of the listed criteria. Women, on the other hand, often feel like they need to meet 100% of the criteria before applying. So, a potentially good employee gets turned away just because of a non-inclusive job listing.
Instead, it would be better to author job listings to highlight descriptions of the work and expectations of the role. Also, avoid using alienating or subjective terms and keep things straightforward.
Celebrate the Achievements of Women in Your Firm
This suggestion may sound simple, but not enough companies realize it. Celebrating and promoting the success of women in your industry will likely bring more female applicants to your door. While not only morally right, it’s also a fantastic talent marketing strategy.
If an applicant is interested in working for your company, they’re probably going to check out everything they can about your business beforehand. What kind of message are your website and social media profiles sending? In the best of cases, content on those platforms should reflect an inclusive culture where employees can grow.
So, when great things happen with your female employees, take pictures and share the good news. It’s great for social media and can even make for good press releases when appropriate. Good examples include awards earned, job promotions, new certifications, and even community or volunteer activities. The more you show support for women in your organization, the more applicants your company will get.
Easy to Start
Each of these handy tips listed here are easy to begin when your company is ready, and relatively inexpensive in most cases. By taking just a few simple actions, most companies will be able to improve the number of women that turn in applications to their open positions. From there, they can begin to build companies that experience much greater gender balance and all the positives associated with improved diversity.
